Conscientious objection in healthcare, already much-discussed in academic literature, is to the fore again in light of proposals to legalise ‘assisted dying’ in the United Kingdom.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has rarely considered the issue, but what jurisprudence there is clearly indicates that there is no right to conscientious objection for health professionals under Article 9 as currently understood. A right to military CO is now established under Article 9, however, and this project considers whether this right can be understood as a ‘right to refuse to kill’, and whether the ECtHR should extend it to health professionals in a very restricted range of contexts.

Theorising conscientious objection to assisted dying as a ‘right to refuse to kill’ could provide human rights protection where none currently exists, and could also facilitate a better understanding of issues like ‘indirect involvement’ and ‘effective referral’.

Law School researcher: Dr Mary Neal